West Clare

ESB Moneypoint representatives paid a visit to Burrane National School in Killimer last Thursday as part of their IT link up with the school.

Kilrush Town Councillors are anxious that a proposed Retail Incentive Scheme be extended to the whole town. The proposal was debated at last Thursday’s monthly meeting of the town council, where it was mooted that Moore Street would be the primary beneficiary of the initiative. In introducing the Retail Incentive Scheme proposal, acting town manager, Nora Kaye, said the council had conducted a survey to find out how many businesses had started or ceased in a 12-month period. “It was found that while 11 businesses ceased trading in the last 12 months, 10 new businesses opened up in the town,” she revealed, adding that the rates income in Kilrush for 2010 was down 20% on 2007 figures. Ms Kaye explained the genesis of the scheme is to encourage people to set up businesses in vacant premises. “This is done by way of a grant towards the fit out costs of the new business, subject to the amount of the grant …

AN Eye for the Music is the title of the Breandán Breathnach memorial lecture by Tony Kearns at the 39th annual Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy, which opens on Saturday, July 2.Tony has been photographing events and people at the Willie Clancy festival for two decades and he is in a unique position to offer some interesting perspectives on the social and personal interactions between musicians and photographers during the 20th century, from the more formalised encounters of the early decades to the casual presentations of later years.While he will be using examples from his own extensive stock of material, including some already published in his book Music and Light/Ceol & Solas 2008, Tony will also be illustrating his talk with examples of rare photos of influential Clare musicians from the ’20s and ’30s, as well as material from the Liam McNulty collection.Liam McNulty took most of the photos at the Willie Clancy Week in the 1970s when, with Breandán Breathnach, …

A KILRUSH man has once again expressed his annoyance at the poor state of the Church of Ireland graveyard in Grace Street in the town.Last September, The Clare Champion highlighted the dishevelled state of the historic graveyard. While the church has been refurbished and since 2007 is the responsibility of Kilrush Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, hundreds of the graves at the back of the church were unkempt, while a number of vaults were wide open and could be accessed without undue difficulty. The graveyard was also completely overgrown and the knee-high grass had not been cut since June 2010.Last year Kilrush man, Tommy Scully, who has tried to upkeep the graveyard for several years along with Seán Danaher, spoke of his frustration. He expressed the hope at the time that the graveyard would be cleaned up and maintained and that a caretaker should be employed to do this.However, nothing has changed and Mr Scully contacted The Clare Champion last week to …

A CLARE TD has called on Clare County Council to prioritise the upgrading of Moore Street in Kilrush. Speaking in Dáil Éireann last Thursday, Deputy Michael McNamara urged Clare County Council to repair Moore Street in the town.

OVER the past two years, West Clare Cycling Club member and Kilrush-based Paul Edson has cycled over 1,200km in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF).

CLARE County Council has promised to open Loop Head Lighthouse to the public this summer.The matter was raised at Monday’s meeting of the Kilrush Electoral Area county councillors in Kilrush. All six West Clare county councillors attended.One of the motions on the agenda included a question from Councillor Gabriel Keating to Clare County Council. He asked the local authority to “define proposed tourism projects for West Clare” and asked that specific start-up dates be provided.In reply, Ger Dollard, director of services, said Loop Head lighthouse will be opened to public access this summer. However, he said it is impossible to give a definite date yet.“The council is endeavouring to pilot an access arrangement over the summer of 2011. An overall scheme will require major development and should be progressed in 2012. It is not possible to give definitive timescales at this point,” he noted.Another possible project mentioned by Mr Dollard is the proposed extension of the Clare Coastal Walk to …

SHANNON Development has lent its support to the possibility that Kilrush Marina might be used by Olympians in preparation for the 2012 Olympics in London.At this week’s Kilrush Electoral Area meeting, Councillor Gabriel Keating proposed that Clare County Council request the Olympic Council of Ireland to consider using Kilrush Marina as a training centre for the Olympic Games in London. The motion was passed.“I would like to take advantage of the Olympic Games and to ask Clare County Council to consider marketing the marina,” Councillor Keating said.He added that he had sought and obtained support from Shannon Development for the idea. “I think this is a great opportunity for West Clare tourism,” he stressed.The meeting heard suggestions that Olympians could prepare for kayaking, surfing, fishing and golfing events in Kilrush and West Clare.Councillor PJ Kelly suggested that as well as looking to host Olympians, the capital town in West Clare should also start scouring birth certificates of well-known non-Irish people.“It …